Macabre↠ Xavier Thorpe

Prologue

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Raven and Wednesday Addams were twins born on Friday the 13th. Two children born of macabre—dark and twisted. The twins stood out from the rest with black locks, olive skin that paled in the sunlight, and dark eyes.

From an early age, they embraced the peculiar and the eerie, finding solace in the shadows and comfort among the ghosts that whispered in the night. They wandered the halls of their midnight castle, exploring its hidden corners and secrets, accompanied by Raven's familiar, Ambrose, a sleek black cat with eyes as dark as the night itself.

On one fateful day, when the twins were at the tender age of five, Raven and Wednesday ventured outside the safety of their castle's walls. Side-by-side, they strolled along the moonlit path, Ambrose trailing behind with an air of cautious curiosity.

As they neared the outskirts of their estate, a sudden chill pierced the air, and a foreboding presence made itself known. Ambrose, who breathed the supernatural, sensed the danger before the twins did. His fur bristled, and an instinctual fear gripped his tiny feline heart.

Without warning, a spectral figure materialized before them, its ethereal form casting a frightening stance. Ambrose spooked beyond measure, bolted across the graveyard and towards the desolate town road.

Panicked, Raven called out for her familiar, as her voice trembled with worry. She ran after him, her heart pounding in her chest.

Just as Raven caught sight of Ambrose, relief washing over her, a hearse hurtled down the road with unforgiving speed. The collision was inevitable, and in an instant, the life of the beloved feline was snuffed from the children.

Raven's bellowing scream pierced the night sky, her grief shattering the tranquility of the moonlit darkness. It was the first time she cried, her tears mingling with the shadows surrounding her. In her young existence, she had not shed a single tear at her own birth or even beheld upon the bewitching beauty of a black rose in full bloom. But now, she mourned for Ambrose, whose lifeless body lay motionless on the unforgiving road.

As Raven fell to her knees, cradling Ambrose's lifeless form in her trembling arms, Wednesday remained stoic, her countenance betraying no emotion. Though she distanced herself from the touch of others, she understood her sister's pain all too well. With a rare moment of tenderness, Wednesday extended a hand and placed it gently on Raven's shoulder, offering a silent solace.

"Death is only the beginning," Wednesday whispered her voice as chilling as a winter wind. "Cherish Ambrose, but do not mourn, for death is more merciful than life."

Raven, her tears staining her pale cheeks, refused to accept this fate. She looked up at the moon, her voice resolute and unwavering.

"I refuse to allow him to die!" she cried out, her voice echoing through the night, challenging the very fabric of existence itself.

Raven sprang up from the ground, her heart pounding in her chest and hurriedly made her way back inside the Addams family mansion. With a sense of urgency fueling her every step, she descended into the dark depths of the basement, where the family's storage was located.

In the dimly lit space, Raven felt a chill, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms. She clutched a single torch, its flickering flame casting eerie shadows on the walls. Standing amidst the towering shelves filled with dusty tomes and mysterious artifacts, she whispered into the icy darkness, "Show me what I wish to see."

As if in response to her plea, a singular book detached itself from the shelf and flew into her small, trembling hands. It was a worn and tattered volume, its black cover adorned with tear stains and the ravages of time. Raven coughed, her lungs protesting the cloud of dust that enveloped her, and gently wiped away the grime from the book's cover.

To her astonishment, the words "Macabre: Book of the Damned" materialized on the cover as if the book itself was revealing its true nature to her. Raven cautiously opened the pages, revealing what was once a blank book now filled with ancient secrets.

As her eyes scanned the pages, she discovered a warning inscribed in what appeared to be red ink on the front page. It read, "This book may only reveal itself to those worthy of its powers—a witch of darkness. Your heart will darken if you continue to read, murmur a spell, or consider its use."

Raven sighed, acknowledging the weight of the book's warning. She turned page after page, her fingers tracing the faded writings and cryptic symbols until she stumbled upon a spell—one that promised to revive the dead but came with an eternal price.

Written in ink that resembled the color of blood, the spell warned, "Should you mark your soul for darkness and bring back the dead, you shall be surrounded by darkness and the dead for eternity."

At that moment, Raven understood the magnitude of the choice before her. She realized what she must do to save her beloved familiar, Ambrose, from the clutches of death. However, the consequences were clear. The young girl knew she would be forever bound to the darkness she sought to harness.

Driven by love and desperation, Raven swiftly made her way back to where Ambrose's lifeless body lay, only to find her sister Wednesday already digging a grave. Tears streamed down Wednesday's face as she worked tirelessly, refusing to accept the finality of Ambrose's departure.

Raven's voice cracked with urgency as she cried out, "Stop, Wednesday! I've found another way!"

Wednesday paused for a moment, the weight of the shovel in her hands, as her eyes drifted back towards her twin sister, Raven.

"What do you mean another way?" Wednesday asked in a deadpan voice. "Ambrose is dead."

Raven shook her head, tears falling from her dark eyes. She clutched a worn and weathered book tightly, its pages yellowed with age. With a trembling voice, she raised the book above her head.

"To me, this book holds the key to saving Ambrose," Raven said. "I found another way, a way to bring him back."

To Wednesday, the book's cover was blank, and it appeared to be nothing more than an old rune. She regarded it with a stoic expression. "I see nothing," she remarked, her voice devoid of emotion.

Raven pursed her lips, her grip on the book tightening. "It's a book on necromancy," she explained. "A dark art, but I was willing to pay any price to bring Ambrose back."

As she spoke, blood began to ooze from Raven's hand. She winced in pain but didn't let go of the book. With a pained expression, she dropped the book, revealing a deep gash on her palm.

Wednesday's gaze remained fixed on her sister's injured hand. Her voice remained calm as she inquired, "Why is your hand bleeding?"

Raven bit her lip, her eyes darkening. "I made a deal with death," she confessed. "It required blood as a sacrifice."

With a trembling hand, Raven waved her injured palm over the book, and to Wednesday's surprise, the pages revealed themselves to her. They flipped open to a section on necromancy specifically for familiars and animals.

Raven's voice trembled as she recited the incantation written on the page. "Spirits of the departed, heed my call. Return this creature from death's enthrall. Bones and sinew reform in this space. Restore its life with vitality and grace."

A heavy silence followed, broken only by Raven's voice echoing through the graveyard. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the familiar silhouette of Ambrose twitched back to life before Wednesday and Raven. An eerie meow pierced the stillness, sending a chill down their spines.

Raven's lips curled into a bittersweet smile as she gazed at the once-lifeless cat. "Welcome back to the living, Ambrose," she whispered triumphantly.